Waning Popularity: After Peaking, Apex Legends Already Lost 75% of Its Streaming Audience

[Raevenlord]

Apex Legends was somewhat of a sleeper hit, and it was so in many ways. A ninja introduction by EA of the Respawn Entertainment-developed game back in January saw significant interest from the gaming community, who recognized in Respawn the ability to make a great FPS. Taking advantage of the Battle Royale popularity was also a solid move, as was EA's decision to focus marketing efforts not on a long, drawn-out publicity campaign, but instead, on paying renowned Twitch streamers to play and stream their game.

Since gaming (at least when it comes to multiplayer gaming) nowadays has somewhat of a "monkey see, monkey do" dynamic for the general gaming population, this move prompted Apex Legends to the top of the streaming food chain, with a grand total of 40 million hours streamed on its first week alone. Also during its first week, the game achieved a staggering 25 million unique players, doubling that number to 50 million in the first month. However, the cash flow must die out, and as EA stopped paying streamers, so did they move on to other, more proficuous games, such as Fortnite, which has endured the Apex Legends assault in terms of viewers and players. It remains to be seen if EA will double down on the streamer investment it did on the games' launch, or if Respawn Entertainment can churn out meaningful updates and characters that can turn the tide.



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[Manu_PT]

Easy to explain:

- lack of new content
- slow updates
- worst netcode of the last 14 years (according to battlenonsense analysis, 140ms fire delay + 24hz tickrate)
- broken hitboxes, still no fix (pathfinder)
- rampant hacking
- poor performance (even at 720p low my gtx 1080ti struggles to lock it at 138fps in some areas - Gsync/freesync usage)

EA stocks were going trough a nightmare, apex came and saved them, but EA could still manage to ruin the potential that was on this game. They investimg on the upcoming star wars (made by respawn) and no investment on apex. They thought they could get away with it. EA ...

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Easy to explain:

- lack of new content
- slow updates
- worst netcode of the last 14 years (according to battlenonsense analysis, 140ms fire delay + 24hz tickrate)
- broken hitboxes, still no fix (pathfinder)
- rampant hacking
- poor performance (even at 720p low my gtx 1080ti struggles to lock it at 138fps in some areas - Gsync/freesync usage)

EA stocks were going trough a nightmare, apex came and saved them, but EA could still manage to ruin the potential that was on this game. They investimg on the upcoming star wars (made by respawn) and no investment on apex. They thought they could get away with it. EA ...

You forgot the money train. Once the contract paid shills on twitch had with EA to play Apex Legends expired, they all went back to playing their regular games (which wasnt Apex) the game died. because these streamers took their viewership and subscribers with them.

Thats what happens when you release a game without much substance and hire some big names to bang the drum.... Once the money for PR runs out and everyone goes back to their regular day jobs, nobody really cares about the game anymore because it didnt have any redeeming features in the first place.

At least the game is still free though, so there is no real barrier to entry other than downloading and running EA Origin. Im sure people will return to the game once more content for it is released.

On a more positive note Titanfall 2 has received a much welcome boost because of Apex Legends. If people arent playing Apex, then it will be Titanfall.

 

[ShurikN]

The battle pass being pretty lackluster is partly to blame, plus other things like cheaters, bots selling cheats, netcode...

 

[Deleted member 158293]

EA prides itself in pricing their transactions at the maximum price the market can bear. This usually doesn't translate to maximum market penetration. IMO this would be a peine example of this.

 

[Manu_PT]

You forgot the money train. Once the contract paid shills on twitch had with EA to play Apex Legends expired, they all went back to playing their regular games (which wasnt Apex) the game died. because these streamers took their viewership and subscribers with them.

Thats what happens when you release a game without much substance and hire some big names to bang the drum.... Once the money for PR runs out and everyone goes back to their regular day jobs, nobody really cares about the game anymore because it didnt have any redeeming features in the first place.

At least the game is still free though, so there is no real barrier to entry other than downloading and running EA Origin. Im sure people will return to the game once more content for it is released.

On a more positive note Titanfall 2 has received a much welcome boost because of Apex Legends. If people arent playing Apex, then it will be Titanfall.

You can talk about ninja and doctor, but shroud enjoyed the game a lot. But is always the same thing and he got bored.

However I agree with you and in my opinion these big streamers are destroying videogames industry.

Titanfall 2 is great, but the game has bad hacking problem aswell.

 

[Deleted member 67555]

I won every single round I played and was bored AF.
The game is full of idiots.
Idiots aren't a challenge and the game isn't going to draw in worthy opponents because it sucks.
It has too many problems.
Blah blah blah.
Don't get me started on these Twitch TV players that look like they are the best players ever but in reality are being given unfair advantage because of Twitch TV..
People for fucks sakes quit watching people play and play yourself!

 

[Metroid]

Even Team Fortress 2 lost countless players during the years and devs slowly still create content, hype usually any game go through.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

I won every single round I played and was bored AF.
The game is full of idiots.
Idiots aren't a challenge and the game isn't going to draw in worthy opponents because it sucks.
It has too many problems.
Blah blah blah.
Don't get me started on these Twitch TV players that look like they are the best players ever but in reality are being given unfair advantage because of Twitch TV..
People for fucks sakes quit watching people play and play yourself!

The only time I watch someone else play is when I get stuck on some side quest/mission and couldn’t figure it out myself and have to search for an answer. Even then, I prefer to read the how-to instead of watching a video. I’m always surprised when I hear there are huge audiences watching other people play. If I’m gonna invest time into a game, it’s going to be to play it.

 

[Vayra86]

I don't care all that much about streamers personally. Game is still enjoyable, but I do get burned out after a few rounds now and then. Game desperately needs content and some fixes.

 

[TheLostSwede]

I find the have quite enjoyable, despite all the issues. Changing server region has helped a lot. But yes, the game needs a lot of work, epically considering the insane amount of cheaters and spam bots. But, considering the rounds don't last too long, even if you stay alive to the very end, it's easy to pick up and play a few rounds, unlike many similar games.

 

[Gasaraki]

So you can say it's reached it's Apex.

 

[lexluthermiester]

EA stocks were going trough a nightmare, apex came and saved them

That's overstating things a bit.

So you can say it's reached it's Apex.

And fallen from it's Apex! LOL!

 

[Mistral]

Easy to explain:

- lack of new content
- slow updates
- worst netcode of the last 14 years (according to battlenonsense analysis, 140ms fire delay + 24hz tickrate)
- broken hitboxes, still no fix (pathfinder)
- rampant hacking
- poor performance (even at 720p low my gtx 1080ti struggles to lock it at 138fps in some areas - Gsync/freesync usage)

EA stocks were going trough a nightmare, apex came and saved them, but EA could still manage to ruin the potential that was on this game. They investimg on the upcoming star wars (made by respawn) and no investment on apex. They thought they could get away with it. EA ...

- of course it could use more content, but it's a free game that just launched
- they seem to be patching fairly often
- the netcode definitely needs to get better, but the only way to call it "worse of the last 14 years" is if you haven't played anything in the last 14 years
- that was already fixed, seem you haven't played the game recently
- hacking in Apex is on the decline actually, though like any online game, fools who do it still exist
- I'm getting stable 70+ fps @ 1440p maxed, except AA - so check your configuration

 

[lexluthermiester]

- of course it could use more content, but it's a free game that just launched
- they seem to be patching fairly often
- the netcode definitely needs to get better, but the only way to call it "worse of the last 14 years" is if you haven't played anything in the last 14 years
- that was already fixed, seem you haven't played the game recently
- hacking in Apex is on the decline actually, though like any online game, fools who do it still exist
- I'm getting stable 70+ fps @ 1440p maxed, except AA - so check your configuration

Apex doesn't have much to offer over the competition. The "New-hotness" factor has worn off.

 

[timta2]

I won every single round I played and was bored AF.
The game is full of idiots.
Idiots aren't a challenge and the game isn't going to draw in worthy opponents because it sucks.
It has too many problems.
Blah blah blah.
Don't get me started on these Twitch TV players that look like they are the best players ever but in reality are being given unfair advantage because of Twitch TV..
People for fucks sakes quit watching people play and play yourself!

Can you explain how this works? Are the Twitch players given some kind of power-ups, that other players don't get? How are they getting an "unfair advantage"?

 

[EarthDog]

Can you explain how this works? Are the Twitch players given some kind of power-ups, that other players don't get? How are they getting an "unfair advantage"?

Stream snipers.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Stream snipers.

"Plink"...

Distant player drops dead.

 

[Space Lynx]

I doubt EA is generating much money from the game since free to play and quick to die. Attention span of most people will keep them playing bigger name online games, this was a mere very brief distraction, once the EA stock holders realise this it will be game over. Anthem flopped, Battlefield is decrease in sales... I honestly wouldn't be surprised to see EA's stock tank hard in the coming months. If it wasn't for FIFA they would have been dead years ago. So many sports addicts though, haha

 

[Markosz]

Streaming Audience. Well not a big surprise because all of the popular variety streamers stopped playing it and moved on to the next hyped thing. (GTA V RP mostly)

That's what happens with basically all games that suddenly that gets picked up by streamers.

 

[Caring1]

Quantity of streamers or viewing audience isn't an indication of a games popularity.

 

[PLAfiller]

I’m always surprised when I hear there are huge audiences watching other people play. If I’m gonna invest time into a game, it’s going to be to play it.

You shouldn't be. There is more to this. You see in order to play a game, you need to invest into: time, money for PC/console,phone, buy the actual game (if it's paid)..etc..etc. And for watching you only need a device capable of playing video. For people that are debating whether to quit gaming or not, this could be a somewhat acceptable compromise. Also, games that require super fast reflexes (Meatboy, Jamestown..etc) there are people, that just want to see the story or next boss. It may take them forever to get there, or even never to reach that point in the game. Just look at the "Games I never finished" thread here and you will see thousands of folks that never completed titles.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Quantity of streamers or viewing audience isn't an indication of a games popularity.

Very true.

 

[Deleted member 67555]

Can you explain how this works? Are the Twitch players given some kind of power-ups, that other players don't get? How are they getting an "unfair advantage"?

Balanced match making.
1) I can't prove it but it would seem as some well known and popular Twitch players seem to always be on the "good side of LAG" especially when a game first launches.
2) Pro Players manipulate the balance by playing under new accounts that match them with beginners. They make ridiculous claims that by playing under their real name just makes them a target to be sniped constantly so they switch up....In reality what the rest of us regular players do is school the motherfucker putting us to the test instead of crying like a lil loser bitch and then making ourselves feel better by going taking candy from a baby.

 

[EarthDog]

Balanced match making.
1) I can't prove it but it would seem as some well known and popular Twitch players seem to always be on the "good side of LAG" especially when a game first launches.
2) Pro Players manipulate the balance by playing under new accounts that match them with beginners. They make ridiculous claims that by playing under their real name just makes them a target to be sniped constantly so they switch up....In reality what the rest of us regular players do is school the motherfucker putting us to the test instead of crying like a lil loser bitch and then making ourselves feel better by going taking candy from a baby.

Respectfully, these reasons are utter nonsense to me.

1. I've seen plenty of Twitch and YT streamers (mostly Fortnite, PUBG, Apex Legends) on the 'bad' side of lag. I mean how in the world would you be able to selectively pick out users and specify them for a lower ping while others are higher???? Seriously... what networking magic can do this for them while still allowing the public to join?

2. Many of the major streamers I have seen (again same titles) stick with the same ID. Sure, some have multiple ID's and stream sniping can be a major issue for these people, but for the most part, the 10 or so streamers my sons and I watch, are typically using the same handle (Ninja, HighDistortion, Dakotaz, Chocotaco, NICKMERCS, Danucd, Dr Lupo, DrDisrespect, Timthetatman, TFue, NickEh30, Lachy, Shroud, Ali A)... they all play the vast majority of their time under their main name.

Have you ever watched a stream on some of these major players and seen just how many stream snipe? I typically have chocotaco on (PUBG) and it is nearly constant. He gets around 3-8K viewers... can you imagine what TFue, or Ninja, or DrDisR has to deal with having 2-4x more viewers? It is a problem for them... either they just run up and say high and get killed or try hard to kill the streamer for their own fame.